Backpack, rifle belonging to missing Norwegian hiker found in northern Manitoba: RCMP

Searchers canvassing treacherous muskeg and swift-moving rivers have recovered a backpack and rifle belonging to a missing Norwegian trekker who was on a cross-continental journey of the Canadian wilderness.

Manitoba RCMP say a search continued Thursday for Steffen Skjottelvik when those involved found the items.

Police previously obtained what are believed to be the last coordinates where Skjottelvik’s GPS device was connected to satellites. They could not say whether the backpack and rifle were found in the same area.

Skjottelvik was travelling on foot with his two dogs from Fort Severn, Ont., to York Factory in northern Manitoba when he went missing last week.

Officers and locals have searched the area with drones, boats and helicopters due to the hazardous conditions and potential